The change is part of “Because We Care,” a plan the school board approved earlier this month in response to teen traffic deaths in Johnston.

Of the seven added hours, four will be for “Alive at 25.” The defensive-driving class encourages teens to wear their seatbelts and cautions them against speeding, aggressive driving, drinking and driving, and driving distractions such as cell phone use.

Anthony Parker is superintendent of Johnston County schools. “We sincerely hope this will have a positive impact on our students and certainly guide them into a safer area from the standpoint of their actions in assuming responsibility of driving an automobile,” he said.

Beyond “Alive at 25,” students in driver’s ed classrooms will hear from parents who have lost children to traffic accidents.

In addition to more class time, “Because We Care” includes penalties for young drivers who fail to abide by traffic laws. For example, young drivers ticketed for speeding or failure to wear a seatbelt will lose their school parking passes for 30 days. The parking pass will disappear for a year if a student is charged with an alcohol-related offense.

“We sincerely hope that the enforcement part will be supported by all of our parents here in the county,” Parker said.

Also under “Because We Care,” parents will have to attend a meeting with their children before they begin driver’s education. Parents will get a refresher in North Carolina traffic laws, learn about the state’s graduated driver licenses and receive statistics on teen driving.

Finally, the school system will advertise teen-driving facts on billboards, air public-service announcements on radio, distribute materials to parents and teens and create a Web site specifically for teen drivers.

This year, the state will give Johnston $642,811 for driver’s ed. That covers the traditional 30 hours in the classroom and six hours behind the wheel. Spokeswoman Terri Sessoms said the school system was working with Johnston Community College to cover the additional cost of “Alive at 25.”

Like Parker, Sessoms said she hoped parents would support the penalties in “Because We Care.” “Many times, when we talk about enforcement, those of you who have a teen know they won’t like it, but it’s because we care about these children,” she said. “We care about their families. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through what some of these families have experienced.”